Eldridge: Grandad is why I’m playing football

Simon Newstead

Little Common player-manager Russell Eldridge says that Ken Cherry is the reason he is playing football.

Common chairman Ken, who died last Thursday, managed the team in which his grandson Eldridge played his youth football.

Eldridge said: “My grandad’s the reason why I’m playing football. Even when I was six or seven I used to go with him to the first team games on the minibus and I was the mascot. He ran my youth team and we won the county cup a few times in the early days.

“Not just me but a lot of people within the club, it’s because of him we’ve got this opportunity to play and we’ll be forever indebted to him for that.

“He was very supportive, not just to me, but all the boys, and he was very proud of all the boys that pulled on a Little Common shirt, whoever it was over the years.

“He was the best grandad we could’ve asked for and the best dad for my mum. He would’ve done anything for anyone at the football club.

Football kind of feels like it’s irrelevent at this time, but I know that grandad would want us to get back out there.

Russell Eldridge

“He lived for two things, and that was my nan and the football club. No-one will ever be able to replace him in terms of what he did, but every time we go out on the pitch we’ll try and make him proud.

“On behalf of the family and Little Common, we would like to say thank you to everyone for their messages and support at a difficult time. We’ve been absolutely humbled by everything and it just shows how much respect he had in the community.

“Football kind of feels like it’s irrelevent at this time, but I know that grandad would want us to get back out there.”

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